The interdisciplinary program in Communication offers contemporary communication studies emphasizing comprehensive understanding of communication in traditional and new media and in-depth study of particular forms of communication. Students come to understand how communication happens; how messages are put into visual and verbal codes; how messages are filtered through various media; how messages are interpreted and affect different audiences in different ways and in different contexts; and how students construct those contexts.

New information technologies tend to merge media. A major or minor in Communication provides the kind of integrative knowledge that is required for professional careers in the field.

Before being admitted to the Communication major, a student must earn a minimum grade point average (gpa) of 2.5 based on completion of 30 degree credits and must complete an application form and related items that can be found on the Communication web page. Students not meeting the gpa minimum may contact their faculty adviser for information on appeal procedures. Transfer students need to complete 15 UW-Green Bay credits with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 before they are eligible to apply to the program.

Internships in Communication provide qualified students with opportunities for faculty-supervised experience in professional settings outside the classroom. In addition, several Communication courses involve students in research projects in the community.

Communication graduates have entered a wide variety of academic and professional areas: news reporting, photojournalism, broadcast journalism, photographic illustration, television production, printing and publications, advertising, sales and marketing, management consulting, technical writing and editing, public relations, and government service, as well as graduate study in photography, theoretical and applied linguistics, information science, library science, journalism, media studies, and telecommunications.

Communication offers five areas of emphasis.

In electronic media, students need more than just knowledge of production techniques. Professional advancement requires skills in writing, editing, advertising and sales, market and audience research, as well as knowledge of new media and their impact on society and culture.

Students in organizational communication develop basic communication skills needed in organizations, such as speaking, interviewing, and effective ways to use different communication technologies for different purposes and with different audiences and discussion skills. They also learn about sources of communication problems in organizations, apply strategies for discovering and solving these problems, and build an understanding of current theories of organizational communication.

Photography students come to understand photography as a problem-solving process, combining imagination, intuition, critical analysis, and mastery of tools and materials, including traditional photographic means and digital imaging systems. The integration of theoretical concepts and practical experience prepares students for diverse applications of photography.

In journalism, students will develop writing and editing skills, including video reporting/editing skills; the ability to do in-depth research and reporting, a concern for people, a strong sense of autonomy, and a well-rounded understanding of important issues in their field through this program and through a liberal arts education. Students will also gain hands-on experience in journalism through participation in on-campus publications and/or through outside internships.

Students in public relations complete requirements that reflect the demand for graduates who can write well, are fully acquainted with the wide range of available modes of communication (graphics, print, broadcast, oral discourse, digital/internet, and their many combinations), and are particularly skillful in at least one of them.

See also the disciplinary minor of Corporate Communication in this catalog.